Edmonton Oilers D hopeful John Marino has interesting qualities, but needs to show more with the puck to advance up the prospect ranksBack to video

When you are an NHL prospect drafted in the 6th Round the expectations that you will eventually evolve into a “real” NHL player are realistically unlikely. In fact, there’s only about a 15% chance you’ll ever play 100 games in the NHL.

John Marino is that kind of prospect.

Marino was plucked by the Oilers 154th over-all in the 2015 draft. He is a big enough kid. Listed at 6’2, 181, sources in Boston tell me that he is now 207. If accurate, that’s a significant development. t would mean that Marino has both the size and strength to become a force in his own end. The 21-year old has a bit of a mean streak to boot.

The difference between he and other prospects of his ilk?

Marino skates quite well for that player type. He is decent with the puck in the attacking zone and has a crisp first pass out of his own end. He does not project as power play quarterback by any stretch. But Marino does possess the raw tools to both be a stay-at-home defender in today’s NHL yet still have enough offence to be able to contribute in the other direction. Plus he’s a right shot.

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But while Marino possesses a decent looking skill-set, there is a real reason why some of these kids are picked where they are. Usually, it is because they don’t possess that one specific thing that they do especially well. In order to make up for that, the player really has to be able to deliver a more-than-consistent over-all performance. And as anyone will tell you that is a tough thing to do.

After 2 encouraging years in the United States Premier Hockey League, Marino made the jump to the United States Hockey League in 2015, where he enjoyed his break-through season: 56-5-25-30-45 for the Tri-City Storm. The physical progression and Marino’s high level of intelligence led to the decision to attend Harvard. There, in Year 1, he went 35-2-13-15 while playing in all disciplines. He was also an impressive +24.

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For those who adopt ‘draft-and-follow” tactics of deep draft choices like John Marino, a performance like that is really encouraging. In fact it led to a jump in our Cult of Hockey prospect rankings from #24 to #17. For most of us who watch the Edmonton Oilers and their prospects on a consistent basis it was a sign that this deep pick may turn out to be a diamond in the rough. Arrows up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRRmOzVK8vA&feature=youtu.be

However the road to the NHL is rarely straight or fast.

In his follow-up season in 2017-18 John Marino more or less skated in place offensively. His 33-2-14-16 clip was practically identical to the year previous. The sophomore was solid in his own end. He finished even or plus in 30 of the 33 games he played for the Crimson, ending the season +21 and as a finalist for ECAC Best Defensive Defenceman. But with the puck itself, he stalled.

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By comparison, the Edmonton Oilers own Matthew Benning opened his college career at Northeastern with a 13 point season in 33 games. But as a sophomore, Matt Benning registered 24 points in 36 games. He took a significant step forward with the puck whereas Marino (a year older, bigger, stronger, faster and minus the graduated opponents from the year previous) did not.

A crime?

Of course not. John Marino’s calling card has always been defence. But that he was not able to move the yardsticks offensively is a concern when you consider that fact within the context of what it takes to be an NHL D-man today. And with the considerable depth that the Oilers have been able to add to the organization on the back end the last few years, the road for John Marino gets that much tougher.

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Expectations for 2018-19:

Marino is expected to play his 3rd year at Harvard. If he is to be considered for the Oilers system in either Bakersfield or Norfolk past that he will need to maintain his defensive growth but also add a further offensive dimension to his game. That, or he risks not even making it into our Top 25 by next Summer.

That may seem harsh. Look, there are no bad players at his level. But a fine line separates most of them. And as such, it doesn’t take much to falter.

-This year’s rankings were obtained by the average of five “raters”: our homegrown trio of David Staples, Bruce McCurdy and Kurt Leavins from The Cult of Hockey, along with Matt Mosewich of Edmonton Future Watch and Sean Patrick Ryan of The Oil Knight.

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